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Abstract:

A lamp for a vehicle has a light source (1), a first reflector (2), and
at least one light pane (6, 7), which are disposed so that light emitted
by the light source (1) is reflected by a reflector face (3) of the first
reflector (2) and forms a first lamp face (17) of the lamp. The lamp has
at least one second reflector (4), the reflector face (5) thereof being
disposed separately from the reflector face (3) of the first reflector
(2) and the second reflector being disposed so that light emitted by the
light source (1) is reflected by the reflector face (5) of the second
reflector (4) and forms a second lamp face (18) of the lamp, wherein the
first and the second lamp faces (17, 18) are not coherent.

Claims:

1. A lamp for a vehicle comprising a light source, a first reflector and
at least one light pane which are arranged such that light emitted by the
light source is reflected by a reflector face of the first reflector and
forms a first lamp face of the lamp, wherein the lamp has at least one
second reflector whose reflector face is arranged separate from the
reflector face of the first reflector, and is arranged such, that light
emitted by the light source is reflected by the reflector face of the
second reflector and forms a second lamp face of the lamp, wherein the
first and the second lamp faces are not contiguous.

2. The lamp according to claim 1, wherein the light source is arranged in
the focal point of the reflector face of the first reflector and in the
focal point of the reflector face of the second reflector.

3. The lamp according to claim 1, wherein the reflector face of the first
reflector lies on a face formed by a first paraboloid of revolution and
the reflector face of the second reflector lies on a face formed by a
second paraboloid of revolution.

4. The lamp according to claim 3, wherein the first and the second
paraboloid of revolution are identical.

5. The lamp according to claim 3, wherein the first and the second
paraboloid of revolution are different.

6. The lamp according to claim 1, wherein the light emitted by the light
source directly impinges the reflector face of the first reflector and
directly impinges the reflector face of the second reflector.

7. The lamp according to claim 1, wherein the at least one light pane
comprises light dispersing elements both on the side facing towards the
light source and on the side facing away form the light source.

8. The lamp according to claim 7, wherein the light dispersing elements
extend in horizontal direction on the side facing away form the light
source.

9. The lamp according to claim 8, wherein the light dispersing elements
are partial cylinders horizontally aligned on the side facing away from
the light source.

10. The lamp according to claim 7, wherein the light dispersing elements
extend in vertical direction on the side facing towards the light source.

11. The lamp according to claim 7, wherein the at least one light pane or
the light dispersing elements of the light pane is/are only arranged in
the region of the lamp faces of the lamp.

12. The lamp according to claim 1, wherein the light source is shielded
by a mask which prevents a direct view onto the light source from the
outside.

13. The lamp according to claim 1, wherein the lamp has a housing which
is sealed off by an end pane in the direction of the light emission and
the at least one light pane is arranged within the housing.

14. The lamp according to claim 1, wherein the first lamp face has the
shape of a disk or a rectangle.

15. The lamp according to claim 1, wherein the second lamp face has an
angulated shape.

16. A vehicle a lamp which comprises a light source, a first reflector
and at least one light pane which are arranged such that light emitted by
the light source is reflected by a reflector face of the first reflector
and forms a first lamp face of the lamp, wherein the lamp has at least
one second reflector whose reflector face is arranged separate from the
reflector face of the first reflector, and is arranged such, that light
emitted by the light source is reflected by the reflector face of the
second reflector and forms a second lamp face of the lamp, wherein the
first and the second lamp faces are not contiguous.

17. The vehicle according to claim 16, wherein the light source is
arranged in the focal point of the reflector face of the first reflector
and in the focal point of the reflector face of the second reflector.

18. The vehicle according to claim 16, wherein the reflector face of the
first reflector lies on a face formed by a first paraboloid of revolution
and the reflector face of the second reflector lies on a face formed by a
second paraboloid of revolution.

19. The vehicle according to claim 18, wherein the first and the second
paraboloid of revolution are identical.

20. The vehicle according to claim 18, wherein the first and the second
paraboloid of revolution are different.

Description:

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is a U.S. National Stage Application of
International Application No. PCT/EP2009/052406 filed Feb. 27, 2009,
which designates the United States of America, and claims priority to
German Application No. 10 2008 019 125.6 filed Apr. 16, 2008, the
contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present invention relates to a lamp for a vehicle comprising a
light source, a first reflector, and at least one light pane, which are
arranged such, that light emitted by the light source is reflected by a
reflector face of the first reflector and forms a first lamp face of the
lamp.

BACKGROUND

[0003] During a redesign of vehicles the problem arises, that due to the
desired aerodynamics and the desired design the installation space
characteristics for illumination units, in particular for the lamps
including tail lights and head lamps, are dimensioned very tight.
However, the signaling effect of a lamp is determined by the size of the
perimeter of the radiating face and by the light density.

[0004] Furthermore, the vehicle lamps largely add to the design of the
vehicle. By means of the forming of the lamps, the vehicle often is to be
given a characteristic appearance, which is easily recognized. In
addition, the problem arises, that the cost of manufacturing the lamps
shall be as low as possible.

SUMMARY

[0005] According to various embodiments, a lamp of the type contemplated
above can be provided which on the one hand adds a characteristic
appearance to the vehicle, however, on the other hand may be easily
adapted to different installation space characteristics and which finally
may be manufactured in a cost-effective manner. In addition, the light
density of the lamp faces is to be as homogeneous as possible.

[0006] According to an embodiment, a lamp for a vehicle may comprise a
light source, a first reflector and at least one light pane which are
arranged such that light emitted by the light source is reflected by a
reflector face of the first reflector and forms a first lamp face of the
lamp, wherein the lamp has at least one second reflector whose reflector
face is arranged separate from the reflector face of the first reflector,
and is arranged such, that light emitted by the light source is reflected
by the reflector face of the second reflector and forms a second lamp
face of the lamp, wherein the first and the second lamp faces are not
contiguous.

[0007] According to a further embodiment, the light source can be arranged
in the focal point of the reflector face of the first reflector and in
the focal point of the reflector face of the second reflector. According
to a further embodiment, the reflector face of the first reflector may
lie on a face formed by a first paraboloid of revolution and the
reflector face of the second reflector lies on a face formed by a second
paraboloid of revolution. According to a further embodiment, the first
and the second paraboloid of revolution can be identical. According to a
further embodiment, the first and the second paraboloid of revolution can
be different. According to a further embodiment, the light emitted by the
light source may directly impinge the reflector face of the first
reflector and directly impinges the reflector face of the second
reflector. According to a further embodiment, the at least one light pane
may comprise light dispersing elements both on the side facing towards
the light source and on the side facing away form the light source.
According to a further embodiment, the light dispersing elements may
extend in horizontal direction on the side facing away form the light
source. According to a further embodiment, the light dispersing elements
can be partial cylinders horizontally aligned on the side facing away
from the light source. According to a further embodiment, the light
dispersing elements may extend in vertical direction on the side facing
towards the light source. According to a further embodiment, the at least
one light pane or the light dispersing elements of the light pane can be
only arranged in the region of the lamp faces of the lamp. According to a
further embodiment, the light source can be shielded by a mask which
prevents a direct view onto the light source from the outside. According
to a further embodiment, the lamp may have a housing which is sealed off
by an end pane in the direction of the light emission and the at least
one light pane is arranged within the housing. According to a further
embodiment, the first lamp face may have the shape of a disk or a
rectangle.

[0008] According to a further embodiment, the second lamp face may have an
angulated shape.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The invention is now described by means of an exemplary embodiment
with reference to the drawings.

[0010]FIG. 1 schematically shows a cross section of an exemplary
embodiment of the lamp,

[0011]FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the light source and of the two
reflectors of the exemplary embodiment of the lamp,

[0012]FIG. 3 shows the view of the exemplary embodiment of the lamp in
its switched-on state from the outside, and

[0014] The lamp according to various embodiments is characterized in that
it has at least one second reflector, whose reflector face is arranged
separate from the reflector face of the first reflector and which is
arranged such that light emitted by the light source is reflected by the
reflector face of the second reflector and forms a second lamp face,
wherein the first and second lamp faces are discontiguous.

[0015] Thus, according to various embodiments the light emission of the
one light source impinges two separate reflector faces, which provide two
separate lamp faces. In conventional lamps comprising discontiguous lamp
faces several light sources are provided. Typically, dedicated to each
lamp face is at least one separate light source. Due to the construction
of the lamp according to various embodiments costs may be saved in the
production of the lamp since only one light source is required.
Furthermore, the installation space for the further light source
typically provided may be saved. At last, the discontiguous lamp faces of
the lamp may provide a characteristic signature by means of which the
vehicle may be easily recognized.

[0016] According to an embodiment of the lamp the light source both is
arranged in the focal point of the reflector face of the first reflector
and in the focal point of the reflector face of the second reflector. The
focal point of a reflector face is understood to be the location from
which emitted beams of light are reflected by the reflector face such
that the reflected beams of light run in parallel with each other. Thus,
the beams of light emitted by the light source in this embodiment of the
lamp are reflected by the reflector faces of the two reflectors such that
each light beam is generated by parallel beams of light. Not until the
light pane the parallel beams of light are dispersed. This embodiment has
the advantage, that the lamp faces feature a homogeneous light density.
In particular, it is not possible to identify a light source within a
lamp face. In established lamps, in which the light emission of several
light sources is used for a lamp face it has been found that, in
particular from large distances, areas of higher light intensity are
formed within a lamp face. The observer can relate these areas of higher
light intensity to the individual light sources. Such an identification
is avoided by the lamp according to various embodiments.

[0017] According to a embodiment of the lamp the reflector face of the
first reflector lies on a face formed by a first paraboloid of
revolution. In addition, the reflector face of the second reflector lies
on a face formed by a second paraboloid of revolution. In particular, the
light source is arranged in the focal point of both of the two
paraboloids of revolution. Due to the parabolic shape of the reflector
faces and the arrangement of the light source in the focal point of the
parabolas the light reflected by the reflector faces is in parallel. Due
to this parallelism of the reflected light, which is constituted by the
two lamp faces, the light intensity in these lamp faces is very
homogeneous from all viewing angles. Thus, viewed from all angles the
lamp faces appear to have the same brightness.

[0018] The two paraboloids of revolution may be identical. In this case,
the two reflector faces lie separate to each other on the face of a
single paraboloid of revolution. In doing so, the selection of the
position and the size of the reflector faces on the imaginary paraboloid
of revolution on the one hand may be dependent on the installation space
characteristics and on the other hand on the shape and size of the
desired lamp faces.

[0019] According to another embodiment, the first and the second
paraboloid of revolution are different. Thus, the two paraboloids of
revolution have differing parameters, wherein the focal point of the two
paraboloids of revolution identically lies at the position of the light
source. In this case, the position of the two reflector faces can be
varied to a larger degree, so that the lamp may be adapted to the
installation space characteristics even better. As a result, reflector
faces arranged in a staggered manner and separate to each other are
yielded which provide parallel light beams in the direction of the light
pane.

[0020] According to an embodiment of the lamp, the light emitted by the
light source directly impinges the reflector face of the first reflector
and directly impinges the reflector face of the second reflector. Neither
optically effective elements, such as lenses, prism or the like, nor
transparent disks are arranged between the light source and the reflector
faces.

[0021] According to a further embodiment of the lamp the light pane
comprises light dispersing elements. The light pane in particular
comprises light dispersing elements both on the side facing towards the
light source and on the side facing away from the light source.
Preferably, the light dispersing elements on the side facing away from
the light source extend in horizontal direction. In particular, these are
horizontally aligned partial cylinders. On the side facing towards the
light source, light dispersing elements preferably extend in vertical
direction. In this case also these may be vertically aligned partial
cylinders. On the light entry side and the light outlet side,
respectively, the partial cylinders in cross-section may have the shape
of a circle or a parabola section or another convex curvature, which
substantially results from the desired light dispersion. Here, the light
dispersing elements on the side facing away from the light source
preferably are formed particularly distinctive. They have another
curvature than the light dispersing elements on the side facing towards
the light source. The curvature of the horizontally aligned partial
cylinders on the side facing away from the light source of the light pane
in particular is smaller than the curvature of the vertically aligned
partial cylinders on the side facing towards the light source. This
formation results in that the partial cylinders on the outer side are
very distinctively visible from the outside.

[0022] The light dispersing elements of the light pane make sure that the
parallel light impinging the light pane from the reflectors is dispersed
in the desired angles. In this case, the light dispersing elements are
formed such, that the outline of the light pane on the side visible from
the outside corresponds to the aesthetic requirements, i.e. the desired
design, whereas the light dispersing elements on the backside, i.e. on
the side facing towards the light source, take the main function of light
dispersion. Thus, by means of the side visible from the outside of the
light pane a particular light dispersion is created. However, the desired
light dispersion only is created by the addition of the light dispersing
elements on the side not visible from the outside.

[0023] According to a further embodiment of the lamp the light pane or the
light dispersing elements of the light pane only are arranged in the
region of the lamp faces of the lamp. The light pane therefore may
consist of two separate light panes. In addition, also only the light
dispersing elements may be provided in these regions, but apart from that
the light pane may be contiguous.

[0024] According to a further embodiment of the lamp the light source is
shielded by a mask, which prevents a direct view onto the light source
from the outside. In this manner it is ensured that only the two lamp
faces are perceived from the outside and not the light source itself.

[0025] According to a further embodiment of the lamp, it has a housing,
which is sealed off by an end pane in the direction of light emission. In
this case, the light pane is arranged inside the housing. Thus, it forms
an intermediate light pane. The end pane preferably is carried out in
clear glass visual appearance, i.e. it may be looked into the inside of
the housing from the outside without a substantial detraction. Thus, both
in the activated state of the light source and in the deactivated state
of the light source the appearance of the lamp is defined by the
intermediate light pane comprising the light dispersing elements on the
outside. Formed on the outside of the intermediate light pane are the
lamp faces, which are visible through the end pane.

[0026] According to an embodiment of the lamp, the first lamp face may
have the shape of a disk or a rectangle and the second lamp face may have
an angulated shape.

[0027] Referring to FIG. 1, at first the general construction of the lamp
is described. The lamp of the exemplary embodiment shown is a tail lamp.
It is to be noted, that the cross section shown in FIG. 1 not necessarily
is along a plane. In fact, the cross section may be chosen such, that
both reflectors are visible. In the following, the indications of
direction, such as horizontal, vertical and lateral, refer to an
installation of the lamp in a vehicle.

[0028] The lamp comprises a light source 1. In this connection it may be a
commonly known light source 1 which is as punctiform as possible.
Furthermore, provided is a first reflector 2 comprising a reflector face
3. As shown in FIG. 1, the light emitted by the light source 1 impinges
the reflector face 3 and from there is reflected into the direction L of
the main light emission of the lamp. The reflector face 3 lies on the
face of a first paraboloid of revolution, wherein the light source 1 is
arranged in the focal point of this first paraboloid of revolution. The
light of the light source 1 impinging the reflector face 3 thus is
reflected such, that a parallel light beam is formed. This light beam
impinges a light pane formed as intermediate light pane 6. The
intermediate light pane 6 has light dispersing elements 15 on the side
facing towards the light source 1 and light dispersing elements 13 on the
side facing away form the light source 1, i.e. on the side visible from
the outside. By means of these light dispersing elements 15 and 13 the
light is diverted in vertical and horizontal directions and a lamp face
17 is formed as described later.

[0029] Furthermore, the lamp comprises a second reflector 4 whose
reflector face 5 is arranged separate form the reflector face 3 of the
first reflector 2. The light emitted by the light source 1 also impinges
the reflector face 5 of the second reflector 4 and from there is
reflected in the direction L. The reflector face 5 of the second
reflector 4 also lies on a face formed by a paraboloid of revolution. The
paraboloid of revolution of the reflector face 5 of the second reflector
4 may be the same as the paraboloid of revolution on the face of which
also lies the reflector face 3 of the first reflector 2. In the present
case, however, the reflector face 5 of the second reflector 4 lies on the
face of a second paraboloid of revolution, which differs from the first
paraboloid of revolution. However, the focal points of the two
paraboloids of revolution in each case lie at the position of the light
source 1. In the present case, both the reflector faces 3 and 5, and the
two reflectors 2 and 4 are arranged separate from each other.

[0030] The light emitted by the light source 1, which impinges the
reflector face 5 of the second reflector 4, is reflected by the reflector
face 5 such, that a further parallel light beam is created which impinges
a second intermediate light pane 7. In the present exemplary embodiment
the intermediate light pane 7, like the intermediate light pane 6, has
light dispersing elements 16 on the side facing towards the light source
1 and light dispersing elements 14 on the side facing away from the light
source 1. In this connection, the light dispersing elements 13 and 14 of
the intermediate light panes 6 and 7, which are arranged on the side
facing away from the light source 1, may be formed identical. Formed by
the intermediate light pane 7 is a second lamp face 18, which is
characterized in that it is not connected to the first lamp face 17,
which is formed at the intermediate light pane 6. Thereby, from a single
light source 1 two separate lamp faces 17 and 18 are accomplished.

[0031] In another embodiment of the lamp the reflector faces 3 and 5 are
no paraboloids of revolution but so called freeform reflector faces.
Thereby, the freeform reflector faces are adapted to the arrangement of
the light source 1 such, that a parallel light beam is created by the
freeform reflector faces. In this sense, in doing so the light source 1
is arranged in the focal point of the freeform reflector faces.

[0032] The lamp is provided within a housing 12, which is sealed off to
the outside by an end pane 8. The end pane 8 is carried out in clear
glass visual appearance, so that the beams of light emanating from the
intermediate light panes 6 and 7 substantially are not affected by the
end pane 8 with regard to their direction.

[0033] The intermediate light panes 6 and 7 are arranged perpendicular to
the direction L. In this plane, which is perpendicular to the direction
L, a mask 9 is located between the two intermediate light panes 6 and 7,
furthermore, located above and below the intermediate light panes 6 and 7
are the masks 10 and 11. Thereby, the mask 9 shields the light source 1
such, that it prevents a direct view from the outside onto the light
source 1. Further, the masks 10 and 11 prevent that it may be viewed into
the lamp laterally from the outside. Therefore, visible from the outside
only are the light dispersing elements 13 and 14 of the sides of the
intermediate light panes 6 and 7 facing away from the light source 1
which form the lamp faces 17 and 18.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 1, the lamp in its cross section may be terminated
by the masks 9, 10 and 11 as well as the intermediate light panes 6 and
7. However, the masks 9 to 11, in particular the mask 9, could also be
provided separate from the intermediate light panes 6 and 7. In this
case, the intermediate light panes 6 and 7 could be formed by a single
intermediate light pane, wherein the light dispersing elements 13 to 16
only are arranged in the region of the desired lamp faces 17 and 18.

[0035] An example for a shape of the lamp faces 17 and 18 and the
corresponding reflectors 2 and 4 is in shown FIGS. 2 and 3. The
reflectors 2 and 4 are arranged separate from each other in a staggered
manner. The shape of the reflectors 2 and 4 complies with the desired
shape of the lamp faces 17 and 18 shown in FIG. 3. In the present
exemplary embodiment, the lamp face 17 substantially is formed like a
disk or a rectangle and the lamp face 18 is angular.

[0036]FIG. 4 shows a detail of the intermediate light pane 7. The
intermediate light pane 6 is formed correspondingly. On the side visible
from the outside the intermediate light pane 7 comprises light dispersing
elements 14, which extend in a horizontal direction. These are partial
cylinders. The curvature of the surface may be circular or may have
another convex curved shape. By means of these horizontally extending
light dispersing elements 14 the light beam incident in parallel is
dispersed in a vertical direction. However, the shape of the light
dispersing elements 14 in particular complies with the design the lamp is
to be received, since these light dispersing elements 14 are visible from
the outside.

[0037] Arranged on the inner side of the intermediate light pane 7 are
light dispersing elements 16 extending in vertical direction. In this
case these are partial cylinders as well, whose curvature, however,
differs from the curvature of the partial cylinders of the light
dispersing elements 14. The curvature of the light dispersing elements 16
is larger, so that per unit of length more light dispersing elements 16
than light dispersing elements 14 are arranged on the intermediate light
pane 7. The light dispersing elements 16 cause a deflection of the light
beam incident in parallel into a horizontal direction. Therefore, they
substantially determine from which angles the lamp is visible for other
traffic. With respect to the configuration of the light dispersing
elements 16 aspects of design do not have to be considered since these
substantially are not visible from the outside. They may be chosen such,
that the optical requirements for the lamp are achieved.